Day 25: Willing to Work

I have always known that the occupation known as farming is not for the weak: physically or emotionally. It is not for the lazy. It is not for the ones who are uncomfortable with unpredictability, situations one cannot control, etc., etc.

This is probably obvious to most of you.

However, it doesn't mean that those who are in the thick of farming as their livelihood enjoy unpredictability, situations beyond our control, Sundays when our husbands come home from church, continue to work, eat lunch and then leave again to work.

I am not faulting Joe. This is not a grouchy wife post where I'm really wanting him to read between the lines and put up the Christmas lights or rub my feet while we watch a cheesy Lifetime movie.

I hate Lifetime movies! I do love a good foot rub, however...hmmmmm..

I'm digressing.

I'm saying that farming, particularly large scale livestock farming, is not for those who enjoy hobbies, vacations, afternoons off, walks in the park, and the like.

It's a full time, all the time, job.

It's hard. It's frustrating at times not just from a scheduling perspective (have I mentioned that Joe and I planned on getting away some time before calving, and that's looking like maybe not until 2014. Sigh.), but from the perspective that it's Thanksgiving weekend, and although we have enjoyed time off to spend with family, while the banks are closed and the factories are for the most part still, Joe's still feeding. While I spent a nice Saturday afternoon with friends, Anna spent it at a birthday party, and the world seemed to be Christmas shopping, Joe was working on water tanks to get them to light so that the cows would have water. On a Sunday afternoon when one should be napping, he's off feeding hay, checking fence, and re-checking the water tanks.

Some times I think this isn't fair, but some times I also think it's self-inflicted, this lifestyle, this commitment to work. It's always been that a livestock farmer works his or her tail off no matter when, no matter what, so I should just get used to it.

Unlike my change of heart with the school bus, I don't see myself becoming okay with chores on early Sunday morning or Christmas or during crummy weather. I don't see myself wishing Joe could work more.

Not that I'm one of those crazy wives who needs to be with her husband 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, I just wish we could have a weekend off, for heaven's sake.

So, with that, I guess I'll turn this bummer of a thought around and be thankful that I have a husband who is willing to work so hard. I should be thankful that he's not around all the time, watching my every move, as I teeter on chairs decorating the tops of the cabinets for Christmas (which makes him nervous). I choose to be thankful that he's teaching our kids the value of work, and how rewarding it is.

I guess I'll work on teaching my kids the value of vacation, and start saving for 2014!

Last week to link up with Holly and her 30 Days of Life on a Prairie Farm!